Red is the Color of Desire

I had to stay home all weekend.

I had accompanied a friend last Saturday to go to Sto. Nino Church in Tondo then walked all the way to Divisoria stopping by the Binondo Church and then ending up in Sta Cruz Church. The way was arduous in that everyone was hyped about selling their stuff. It was still quite early... around 9 am to be exact but the human traffic was getting heavy and the sun was beginning to beat down on us.

Of course, it completely skipped my mind that it was New Year's Eve for our Chinese brothers in the surrounding areas. Dragon dances everywhere. The Plaza San Lorenzo was crammed with people. Some enjoying the festivities while others getting drawn to Presidential candidates who wouldn't miss courting the votes of the Chinese bloc.

Almost everything in Binondo was decked in red and gold. Most surprising was that even in the three churches I mentioned earlier, there were decorations that spelled out the Chinese greeting of Kung Hei Fat choi!!! Even in the noon-time Mass at Malate today (Sunday, 14 Feb)there were decorations alluding to the fact that it was Chinese New Year.

We're so good at melding our cultures together that it seems so seamless when we see catholic and chinese influences together even in a church. Even Catholics go out of their way to buy trinkets and charms that are supposed to draw luck, protection and wealth according to their chinese zodiac sign based on twelve animals and five elements. I'm an earth pig... go figure...

It's nice though, that at the same time Chinese New Year is celebrated it coincides with Valentine's day. So you wouldn't know who's wearing red for what ocassion. Valentine's day traces its roots to a pagan ritual, Lupercalia, in Rome where for a single day the women are allowed to go wild and chase after every single man that catches her fancy. Don't ask me how it eventually became Valentine's Day. I wouldn't be able to explain how St. Valentine eventually owned up to the day of hearts.

But the tradition has caught on and has stuck in the Philippines. It's not as widely celebrated abroad as it is here. All the Malls, hotels, motels, even public markets are in on the crass commercialism of the event. Flower prices increase three-fold on Valentine's. Hotels are crammed with diners having coosome dinners together. Motels are booked solid on this day. Even theater seats are SRO on this day of hearts.

I guess it shows the Filipino penchant for romance and ideal love. I swear, we're such a romantic lot even TV commercials capitalize on the cheeziness of it all. But where does a single guy like me go on a red letter day like this?

I'm home eating steaming hot rice with dinuguan* for dinner...



*(dinuguan is a thick stew of pork's blood sauteed with garlic and tomatoes and meat and added with vinegar until the broth thickens and becomes sort of gooey.)